Women’s underrepresentation in the banking sector of Bangladesh: barriers to career advancement

Naz, Isbahna (2023). Women’s underrepresentation in the banking sector of Bangladesh: barriers to career advancement. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Much research on women’s career and gender inequality issues have been researched in organisational studies in both western and non-western contexts. However, Bangladeshi workplaces are so far less examined on gender inequality issues. This study investigates the reasons behind Bangladeshi women’s underrepresentation at the top of the organisational hierarchy in the banking sector. Bangladeshi women bankers face many potential barriers that hinder their rise to positions of organisational power. There are isolated success stories, but most of the women bankers struggle to break through barriers to reach top managerial positions within the sector. The study adopts a relational framework, that shows how socially constructed macro- factors are embedded in meso-organisational practices and processes that influence women’s micro-, or individual, banking career trajectories. The relational framework further shows how each of the macro, meso and micro level issues are intertwined and jointly impede women’s career advancement.
The research enables a Bourdieusian approach to analyse the potential barriers that women face within the sector. This is due to the unequal power relations within a field, suggesting the gendered practices and roles frame the experiences of Bangladeshi men and women both. These unequal power relations between men and women are formed within the banking field, where men tend to occupy dominant positions and women subordinate. Gendered differences and roles are key concepts in studying Bangladeshi women bankers’ employment, and how inequality is formed within the organisational processes. The research shows that routinised or habitual behaviour in organisational practice lessens opportunities for women to advance within the sector. The findings also suggest that the specific form of unequal power relations between men and women permits individuals with adequate capital accumulation to succeed and reach powerful positions.
However, the findings also reveal that women bankers struggle to acquire adequate resources or capital, thereby limiting their opportunities to advance to the top of the banking hierarchy. By considering the interrelatedness of the relational framework, the study provides a novel outlook on the various barriers that impedes women’s career advancement in the Bangladeshi banking sector. This study presents new knowledge on how potential barriers at different levels can interrelatedly engender inequality. In this, it also provides clear recommendations for
organisations in the banking sector to promote a more equal work environment, by identifying gendered constraints and making necessary remedies to existing HR policies.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):